Are there any vowel sounds in American English that do no exist in British English, and vice versa?

Question

Aside from difference in usage and vocabulary between U.S. and U.K., the difference between american accents and british accents is basically in the frequency of certain vowel sounds, are there any real difference in the vowels or is it just a matter of different distribution?

Answer 1

The differences are based on pronunciation OF the vowels, not differences in the vowels themselves. There are slight spelling differences (colour vs color) which don't change perceived pronunciations, but differences in "openness" and "closedness" of vowels creates the vast majority of difference between American and British English. "Open" and "closed" vowels are terns I use based on years of choral singing in various languages.

That said, there are also significant differences of pronunciation within each country, based on location. Consider Bostonian vs rural Georgia in the US and Scotland vs Liverpool or Ireland in the UK.

Answer 2

Yes there are but I don't know how to write them. *LOL* Shoot there are vowel sounds in the north that don't exist in the south.